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Kilverstone Castle and Similar Works
''Kilverstone Castle and ''The Castle of Otranto The Castle of Otranto ''is a Gothic novel written by Horace Walpole in 1764. It is considered to be the first Gothic novel. Many elements of ''The Castle of Otranto ''may be found in ''Kilverstone Castle. Some common elements include: *Supernatural suits of armor *Courrupt aristocrats *Displaced heirs to a property *Marriage of women from a different country *Women fleeing to convents Kilverstone Castle may be compared to The Castle of Otranto when the scenes involving animated suits of armor are examined. In both instances, the suits of armor are animated by the ancestor of the rightful heir of the property to act as a warning device. In Kilverstone Castle, the suit of armor is animated by its owner, Moreland Audley, to warn young Mervil of the danger that approaches him concerning the usurpation of the family property. In a similar way, the great armor of Alfonso the Good, the ancestor of the rightful heir to the property in The Castle of Otranto, ''animates to warn the usurper, Manfred, that his time for usurpation has ended. Another similarity between the two stories is the existance of corrupt aristocrats. In ''The Castle of Otranto, Manfred was a corrupt aristocrat in how he maintained his family's false claim to Otranto and also in how he pursued his young daughter-in-law-to-be and designed ways to divorce his wife. In Kilverstone Castle, Lord Wentworth is the corrupt aristocrat who wants to wrongly usurp Kilverstone for his own benefit. Displaced heirs to the territory are also present in both stories. In Kilverstone Castle, ''Mervil Audley is the displaced heir because of the treachery of a corrupt priest and a corrupt aristocrat. Similarly, in ''The Castle of Otranto, the heir of Alfonso the Good is displaced by the treachery of a corrupt servant who usurped the territory of Otranto for his family. Another element that may be found in both stories is the marriage of women from different countries to the aristocracy in the country in which the story is set. In The Castle of Otranto, ''Isabella, who was ment to marry Manfred's son, Conrad, came from Vicenza. She later married the proper heir, Theodore. Jeffalind, in ''Kilverstone Castle, came from Normandy to marry Mervil. She also comes from her home country later in the story to marry another gentleman, but this is interrupted by the notice of her son and lost husband. Women fleeing to convents is also an element that is present in both stories. In The Castle of Otranto, Isabella flees to the adjoining convent to escape the designes of Manfred. Jeffalind, in Kilverstone Castle, also flees to a convent for protection after her husband dissappears and her father is still away at war. It is possible that the author of Kilverstone Castle borrowed these elements from The Castle of Otranto after he or she witnessed how successful they were. ''Kilverstone Castle and ''The Monk Kilverstone Castle and The Monk, by Matthew Lewis, also share elements, including *Corrupt clergy *Destroyed monasteries An element that may be found in both Kilverstone Castle ''and ''The Monk is the presence of corrupt clergy. The monk in Lewis' story was corrupted by lust for women, while the monk in Kilverstone Castle was corrupted by lust for money. Similarly, both clergy committed murder. Ambrosio of The Monk murdered Antonia and her mother, while Father Peter of Kilverstone Castle murdered Polydore, the corrupt soldier. Both Kilverstone Castle and The Monk have scenes of the corrupt monasteries being destroyed. In The Monk, the monastery is destroyed in a riot by the people after they learn of all the corruption that happened there, and in Kilverstone Castle, the monastery was destroyed by royal mandate after its corruption was proven. Connected Works Additional Works Published by Ann Lemoine Detailed Summary of Kilverstone Castle Kilverstone Castle; or, the Heir Restored Return to the Main Page Category:Kilverstone Castle Category:Comparisons